


Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time

by actuallyronanlynch



Series: I Kinda Wanna Be More Than Friends [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Flirting, M/M, POV Ronan Lynch, Ronan Lynch Compliant Language, Strip Poker, Teasing, Underage Drinking, just dudes being bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 07:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24347101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actuallyronanlynch/pseuds/actuallyronanlynch
Summary: "I wish I'd worn more clothing," Gansey sighed."Sucks to suck, Dick."(AKA the boys play strip poker, and Adam teases Ronan about it the next day).
Relationships: Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: I Kinda Wanna Be More Than Friends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770634
Comments: 23
Kudos: 244





	Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Please forgive me if this is a horrible portrayal of strip poker. I did my best with the resources I could gather 😂  
> The title of this fic was taken from the song by Panic! At The Disco.

Usually, when Ronan refused to go along with one of Henry Cheng's ideas, Gansey wheedled at him until he relented and reluctantly agreed to whatever it was.

This time, however, it was Noah who was trying to coax them into agreeing to Henry's suggestion of strip poker.

They'd commandeered the coffee table from the common room and somehow managed to fit in into Henry and Cheng2's tiny-ass dorm room. Henry and Noah sat together on Henry's bed while Cheng2 and Lee Squared sprawled out across the other. Ronan, Adam and Gansey each sat in a respective desk chair, though Ronan didn't know who the third one belonged to.

Ronan only showed up in the first place because Noah promised he'd share his whiskey while they played a game of cards. Ronan hadn't been informed that the game they'd be playing would potentially require them to take their clothes off, because if he had he would've just stayed in his own dorm.

"No one wants to see you naked, Cheng," Ronan deadpanned when Henry initially suggested the idea. Henry glared at Ronan, and Ronan glared back until Henry relented.

"Nobody has to _want_ to see anyone naked," he responded. "That's not what's it's about. It's poker without having to bet actual money." Henry knew as well as the rest of them that Adam wouldn't bet real money on something as stupid as a game of poker.

"We could just, oh, I don't know, use poker chips instead of fucking cash, you moron."

"Where's the fun in that?" Henry protested. "There's no stakes involved. It doesn't matter who wins or loses because you aren't _winning_ or _losing_ anything."

"He's got a point," Noah said, and Ronan shot him a look.

"I'm sort of inclined to agree with Ronan," Gansey said, smiling apologetically at Henry. "I'm pretty sure strip poker is generally played in an exclusively, uh, erotic context."

"You're all prudes," Henry said, half-pouting as he got up to search his mini fridge for a drink. It was Henry's own fault for bringing up the idea before any of them had any alcohol in their systems.

"Come on, you guys," Noah said, splashing some whiskey into a red solo cup and taking the can of Coke Henry offered him to mix it with. "Are we just gonna play another game of Blackjack? With what bets?"

"We could bet meal equivalencies," Adam said with a shrug. 

"Nah, dude, I need those," Lee Squared said. "I always wake up too late to go to the caf for breakfast."

"See? My point stands," Noah said. 

"For Christ's sake," Ronan said, grabbing the bottle of whiskey from Noah along with a clean solo cup. "If we do it will you stop fucking whining?"

"Yes," Noah and Henry said in unison.

Ronan rolled his eyes and poured a shot of whiskey into the cup. Roughly a shot, anyway. "Fine. Jesus, you exhibitionist weirdos." Ronan downed the whiskey in one gulp and grimaced at the aftertaste; it wasn't especially nice whiskey. "One condition, though. Nobody takes any Snapchats or makes any posts on Instagram or whatever the fuck social media apps you've got on your phones."

"I second that," Gansey added.

"I third that," Adam said.

"Yes, fine. I wasn't planning on it," Henry said, finally taking his seat on the bed and cracking open the White Claw he'd pulled from the fridge. Basic bitch.

"How does strip poker even work?" Cheng2 asked.

"You bet articles of clothing instead of chips," Henry said. "And like regular poker, whoever loses at the end of the round has to fork up their bet. Say they bet two pieces of clothing, they have to take off two pieces of clothing, and whoever wins the round gets to keep their clothes on."

"What if everyone folds out but one player?" Adam asked.

"Then the last person to fold takes a drink," Henry said, lifting his can to emphasise his point.

"I'm not drinking alcohol," Adam pointed out.

"Then if it's you who folds last, you'll have to do a truth or dare," Henry said.

"Sounds like you're making these rules up on the spot," Adam muttered, but didn't protest.

"Okay, I'll be the dealer," Henry said, tipping out the pack of cards that had been set on the table and beginning to shuffle them. "Everyone's allowed to switch out any cards they want to before betting begins."

"Fuck, let me have another drink before we start this shit," Ronan grumbled, pouring another finger of whiskey into his cup and knocking it back.

"I wish I'd worn more clothing," Gansey sighed. He was wearing his usual polo shirt and khakis; most of the others had hoodies or pullovers on, and Ronan had his leather jacket.

"Sucks to suck, Dick," Ronan smirked, handing the bottle of whiskey back to Noah.

Henry dealt out the cards over the coffee table, and Ronan held his hand close to his chest so Adam and Noah wouldn't be able to see his cards. He swapped out two of his cards and ended up with three of a kind; not the worst hand, but it could've been better. At least he had a good poker face.

"Okay, I bet one piece of clothing," Noah said once the round began.

Ronan kept his face neutral as he slowly glanced up from his cards. "Call."

"Call," Adam repeated, and then looked expectantly at Gansey.

"I raise," Gansey said, "to two pieces of clothing."

Lee Squared folded and Cheng2 called. Henry sighed loudly before tossing his cards onto the table, folding.

Noah tapped his fingers on the table and said, "Check."

Ronan, Adam, Gansey and Cheng2 all checked, and then everyone revealed their cards.

"Son of a bitch," Adam muttered. He had three of a kind, as well, but he had tens where Ronan had Queens.

"Should've folded, Parrish," Ronan said, tossing his cards onto the table.

Adam sighed deeply and set his own cards down before toeing off his sneakers and pulling off his socks.

"First blood," Noah said cheerfully as he gathered up the cards and began to shuffle them. He dealt them slowly, not especially dexterous though he hadn't even finished his first drink. Ronan rolled his eyes and gathered up his cards off of the table.

He had three tens, a nine and an eight; three of a kind again, though he was close to a full house. He discarded the eight and drew another card, grinning when he saw it was nine. 

"I bet two," Ronan said, reaching for the whiskey and sloshing some into his cup.

"Fold," Adam said immediately, chucking his cards onto the tabletop. At least he was learning quickly.

"Fold," Gansey agreed, setting his cards down more delicately than Adam had.

Lee Squared and Cheng2 both folded, but Henry and Noah called Ronan's bet.

"I raise," Ronan said, grinning smugly before swallowing the rest of his drink.

Henry considered for a moment before setting his cards down. "Fold."

"Call," Noah said, maintaining eye contact with Ronan.

Ronan quirked his eyebrow and tapped his fingers on the table. "Check, then."

They revealed their cards, and Ronan's jaw dropped before he could stop it. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he said. "Man, fuck you, Czerny."

Noah had a straight flush. He beamed at Ronan and took a sip of his drink. 

"Should've folded, Lynch," Adam said, and grinned when Ronan turned to scowl at him.

"Horseshit," Ronan huffed, but he moved to kick off his boots. He pulled his socks off next and shucked his leather jacket, tossing it onto the bed beside Noah. "If everyone keeps folding like _cowards_ ," he said, looking pointedly at Lee Squared, "this shit isn't going to be very interesting."

They settled into a rhythm easily; shuffle and deal the cards, switch out if needed, and jump immediately to betting. Adam had a surprisingly good poker face, as well, but Ronan had little self preservation and called or raised whenever Adam stayed in the round. Unfortunately for Adam, it seemed like he just kept getting shit cards; even when he had two or three of a kind, someone beat him out with a better hand.

After playing for about twenty minutes, Gansey, Ronan and Adam were all down to just their pants. Henry, Lee Squared and Cheng2 all had their socks and shoes off, and Noah, somehow, still had everything on except his sneakers. He looked smug about it, and Ronan glared at him heatedly.

"Don't hate the player, Ronan," Noah said pleasantly. "Hate the game."

Everyone was a little drunk besides Adam, which probably wasn't fair to him; the alcohol eased the self consciousness of stripping down, and he didn't have that crutch to lean on. Ronan had thrown back four shots of whiskey altogether and was definitely feeling it, his face a little warm and his movements a little sloppy. He tried not to let his gaze linger too long over the slope of Adam's bare back or the planes of his chest, but, well. He only had so much willpower he could expend.

When Adam caught him staring he raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, and Ronan returned his gaze to his cards, quietly clearing his throat.

"I call," he said.

"Call," Adam echoed, leaning back in his seat. Ronan's eyes unconsciously wandered back to Adam's torso, sliding up Adam's chest to his prominent collarbones. God, he was so fucked. He stared at Adam enough when he was _sober_ and he knew that Adam had noticed. It was easy enough to brush it off regularly, but when they were half-naked in Cheng's fucking dorm room playing strip poker, he didn't think he could really come up with any excuses for the attention.

"Careful, Adam," Gansey said, not unkindly.

Adam kept his face neutral as the round continued on.

"Check," Noah said, still grinning like a cat that got the cream.

After Ronan and Adam checked, they showed their hands; Adam had a full house, Ronan had four of a kind, and Noah had another _motherfucking_ straight flush.

"Sorry, Adam," Noah singsonged, setting down his cards. "You can tap out now, or you can keep playing, but you only have one piece of clothing left to bet."

Adam grunted and began to unbutton his jeans. Ronan swallowed and forced himself not to stare, keeping his eyes trained on the cards scattered across the coffee table instead. When Adam shimmied out of his jeans and let them fall to the floor, Henry wolf whistled and Adam flipped him off.

"Stop objectifying me," he said.

"You sound like Sargent," Ronan said, keeping his gaze pointedly on Adam's face. He could still see his grey boxer briefs in his peripheral vision; Jesus, Mary and Joseph, maybe he should just call it quits and go back to his dorm, tell them Noah's shitty whiskey was fucking with his stomach and he needed to lie down—

They were interrupted by a knock at the door and Henry sprung to his feet, nearly knocking into the table on his way by. He ignored Gansey and Ronan's calls of protest and promptly yanked the door open. Adam grabbed his discarded jeans and balled them up in his lap to shield himself from view of whoever was at the door.

"Henry, did you take the table from the common room?" Blue Sargent asked, her hands on her hips. "Cialina and I were going to use it to play a board—" She paused as she peered past Henry into the room, and her eyebrows shot upward towards her hairline.

Ronan saluted her and Gansey crossed his arms protectively over his chest. "Am I interrupting some kind of homoerotic assembly?" she asked, and Ronan could tell she was fighting back a grin.

"No," said Ronan and Gansey. 

"Perhaps," said Henry. "I suppose we'll see where the night takes us."

"No, we won't," Ronan said, getting to his feet and yanking his tank top back over his head. "I already said nobody wants to see you naked. Sargent, come help me with the table."

The cards and drinks were removed, and Adam quickly pulled his jeans back on as Blue moved to help Ronan lift the table. 

"Not your night, huh?" she asked Adam, and he frowned at her before moving to look for his t-shirt and sweater.

Ronan helped Blue carry the table back to the common room, still in his bare feet.

"Ah, so Henry did have it," Cialina said when they set the table back in its rightful place. "Hi, Ronan."

Ronan grunted in response. "Sargent, keep the gossip to yourself," he said. It didn't sound as threatening as he wanted it to.

Blue raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "What, you don't want people to know you guys play cards together in the nude?"

Cialina laughed in delight and Ronan tried not to gawk at the two of them. "We weren't _in the nude_ ," he hissed. "Jesus fuck, I'm going back to my room." 

He stormed off down the hall, stopping at Cheng's room to retrieve his boots, socks and jacket. Everyone had begun to redress, and Gansey looked appropriately scandalised at having been walked in on.

"Hey, man, congrats," Ronan said, clapping him on the back as he passed. "Sargent got to see your tits."

Adam choked on the soda he was drinking and coughed unhelpfully into the crook of his elbow.

" _Ronan_ ," Gansey seethed, clearly not appreciating Ronan's comedic genius.

"At least she came in before Parrish had his dick out," Ronan drawled, leaning heavily against Henry's dresser to keep himself upright as he haphazardly tugged on his socks.

"Who says I would've taken off my underwear?" Adam protested.

"Well, you had shit hands all night, so you would've lost another round eventually," Ronan said.

"I was going to tap out."

"Well, you're no fuckin' fun, Parrish." Ronan grabbed his jacket off of Henry's bed and stooped to pick up his boots with his other hand. "I'm gonna head out before my buzz fades. Have an eventful, _homoerotic_ rest of your night." He turned and left the room unceremoniously, heading down the hall in his socked feet in the direction of his room. He had to pass the common room on his way, and he pointedly ignored Cialina and Blue as they called out to him when he walked by.

He let his boots drop to the floor once he was safely back inside his dorm, and he threw his jacket over the back of his desk chair before sinking down onto his bed. He was glad he had a single dorm; he didn't really want anyone else to bother him for the rest of the night. He had a class at nine the following morning, but he already knew he likely wasn't going to be attending.

Ronan grunted as he rolled over onto his back, and he stared up at his ceiling as he blew a long breath out through his nose. God, he was never letting Noah or Gansey or fucking anybody else harass him into acquiescing to one of Cheng's stupid ideas ever again. He couldn't get the thought of Adam's body out of his head.

It wasn't like his attraction to Adam was a new phenomenon, but Jesus _Christ_ , he was pining after him like a middle schooler. He shouldn't be so keyed up by seeing Parrish in his boxers. It was probably the alcohol, or the little sleep he'd been getting while working on his most recent painting for arts studio. God, he was _so_ fucked.

-

Adam and Ronan always got lunch together in the caf on Fridays. Adam's chemistry and Ronan's art history both ended at noon, and it had become a sort of ritual for them to meet up after class and eat together. While Ronan had skipped his nine o'clock tutorial, he'd forced himself to get up for his art history lecture at eleven, so when the professor dismissed them at twelve, he hastily shuffled off in the direction of Adam's preferred cafeteria. He wasn't hungover from the night before (he hadn't had _that_ much to drink), but he hadn't had breakfast and his stomach was starting to gnaw at itself.

He grabbed himself a few slices of pizza and a glass of juice and circled the cafeteria until he found an empty seat. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and shot Adam a quick text letting him know where the table was before he sat down and dug into his lunch. Adam joined him about five minutes later with his own lunch tray, his cheeks and the tips of his ears flushed pink from the bitter wind outside. It was too cold for late March, cold enough that even Ronan's pasty ass had to throw on extra layers before heading across campus for class.

"Hey," Adam said, dropping his tray onto the table and letting his backpack fall to the floor before he sat down.

"Hey, Parrish," Ronan said around a mouthful of pizza, which earned him a dirty look. He swallowed before he spoke again. "How was chem?"

Adam let out a long-suffering sigh and pushed his macaroni around his plate with his fork. "It was fine. The unit we're working on right now has been dragging on forever, but at least it's not that hard. Oh, and my study group got cancelled for tonight, so I can probably finish up my physics paper."

"Or you could get some sleep," Ronan said flatly. Adam waved a hand dismissively and took a bite of his pasta.

"It'll be better if I can get it done tonight," he said. "I work the entire weekend."

They ate in relative silence for a while, and Ronan's stomach finally stopped feeling like it was trying to tear itself to pieces.

"Mm, I forgot to mention," Adam said suddenly, smirking in a way that definitely didn't do pleasant things to Ronan's insides, "Carruthers messaged me this morning and asked to be included in the next orgy."

Ronan dropped the crust he'd been chewing on back onto his plate. "The fuck?" he said. "Did Sargent tell him that's what was going on?"

"I don't think so," Adam said, still clearly amused. "I think he was just making a joke since we were all holed up in Henry's room for a while."

Ronan scoffed and swallowed the last sip of his juice in one gulp. "Yeah, like I'd have an orgy with Cheng and his dick-ass friends."

"I don't know, Ronan," Adam said, shrugging one shoulder. "You seemed like you were having a pretty good time until Blue came to steal the table back."

"Yeah, I was having a pretty good time kicking your ass at poker."

Adam got the look on his face that always appeared before he said something he knew was going to get a rise out of Ronan. Ronan felt his shoulders tense involuntarily. "What, you were having a fun time making me strip?"

Ronan glowered. "Don't twist my words," he grumbled. Adam wasn't wrong, though, and they both knew it; if Adam _was_ wrong, Ronan would've argued immediately. He didn't, though. He only deflected. 

"You can tell Carruthers I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot fucking pole, man," Ronan added.

"Uh huh," Adam hummed, stealing a pepperoni off of Ronan's pizza. "You can just tell him yourself, you know."

"One, I don't have his contact info," Ronan said, swatting Adam's hand away as he tried to snag another pepperoni. "And two, I'd rather have an actual orgy with Cheng than willingly talk to Carruthers."

Adam laughed brightly, his eyes crinkling up a little bit at the corners, and Ronan stared deliberately at his lunch tray instead of at Adam's face. "Don't let Henry hear that or he'll start planning."

"Fuck you," Ronan said, though he was grinning stupidly.

Adam's phone suddenly vibrated from its place on the table and Ronan felt his own phone go off in his pocket. He presumed it was the group chat he'd been added to against his will; he had tried removing himself a dozen times, but Noah and Cheng kept adding him back to it. Adam picked up his phone to check the message and snorted, turning the screen towards Ronan so he could read the text.

 _Henry: So, anyone feeling up to finishing the game of strip poker tonight?_ 🤗

Ronan groaned melodramatically and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He hated texting (he used body language to communicate ninety-six percent of the time, how was he supposed to convey that over text?), but he would make an exception to tell Cheng to fuck off.

_Ronan: no. absolutely not._

_Noah: aw man Lynch youre no fun_ 😢

_Ronan: i dont care. i would literally rather light myself on fire_

_Noah: so dramatic_

Adam chuckled as he read the conversation, and promptly began tapping away on his phone.

_Adam: Sorry, guys. As much as I'd like to continue to embarrass myself, I have study group tonight._

_Noah: boo, youre both no fun_

Ronan shoved his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and glared at Adam. "I thought you said study group was cancelled."

Adam shrugged. "It is. I figured it was a nicer excuse than telling them I'd rather light myself on fire," he said. "Anyway, I do have to work on that assignment for physics." Adam paused for a moment as if considering something, and shrugged again as he reached down to tuck his phone into the front pocket of his bag. "We could always go get dinner off campus while they figure out poker themselves, if you'd like."

He said it casually, giving Ronan to opportunity to decline without making it a big deal. It set off a wave of nerves in Ronan's stomach, and he forced his expression to remain neutral as he said, "Sure, Parrish. There's this pub downtown that has fucking great cheeseburgers, if you wanted to try it out?"

"Yeah, that sounds good." The little smile Adam gave him worsened the butterflies in his stomach tenfold. "I've gotta head out to my tutorial now. We can meet up for dinner at six?"

"Okay. I'll come by your dorm then."

Adam gave him another small smile before he got up from the table and swung his backpack over one shoulder. He picked up his tray and headed off through the throng of students meandering through the cafeteria, and once he was out of view, Ronan allowed himself to smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If anyone wants a follow-up to this, let me know lol. My government has started to open businesses again so I'm back at work now, but I'm still making time to write 😊  
> Edit: I did end up writing a sequel, which can be found [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505177)!


End file.
